Lassiter's Christmas Carol
by obsessedwithstabler
Summary: For Christmas, Lassiter gets the one thing he never knew he needed.


Just a nice little Lassiter Christmas songfic, cause I don't think he's as bad as he's made out to be sometimes. LOL. The song I used is Skip Ewing's Christmas Carol. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Not mine!

PsychPsychPsychPsych

Carlton Lassiter didn't have much in the way of Christmas traditions.

Growing up, Christmas was an iffy subject in his household, especially after his dad left. His mom worked two jobs, and she always had a little something under the tree for him from Santa. But he figured out early on that there was no Santa when he went back to school and heard about the tons of gifts his classmates had gotten. It took a while, but he learned to be content with what little bit he got. And as he grew older, he came to appreciate all of the sacrifices his mom made just to make sure that he had those couple of gifts to open on Christmas day.

Now as an adult, Lassiter felt blessed. And instead of staying home during the Christmas season, he spent most of his free time playing Santa at the mall near his home. He always felt ridiculous, until he saw the wondrous looks on those little faces as they saw Santa for the first time. Then he knew that he'd made the right choice, and it lifted his spirits.

Christmas Eve came, and instead of attending the annual Christmas party at the station, Lassiter wished everyone a merry Christmas and went home to change into his Santa uniform. Then he drove over to the mall where he usually played Santa.

Twenty minutes later, Lassiter was sitting in his Santa seat, and one of the elves opened the gate and started motioning for the first child to approach.

Lassiter smiled at the sea of tiny, wonderstruck expressions. This was what Christmas was about.

Eventually it was almost time for the mall to close, and Lassiter noticed one little girl left waiting in front of him. Her little face was dirty and her clothes were tattered, and Lassiter glanced around, expecting to see a parent nearby. When he didn't, he motioned for the little girl to come closer.

She hesitated, then finally scrambled over to him. She couldn't have been more than three or four, and she was a tiny wisp of a thing. Lassiter easily lifted her onto his knee.

"Ho, ho, ho. Hello there, little girl," Lassiter greeted her kindly.

She shyly smiled. "Hi, Santa."

_I was playing Santa Claus_

_Downtown on Christmas Eve_

_When a little girl of three or four_

_Climbed up onto my knee_

He returned her smile. She had the largest blue eyes he'd ever seen on a child, and there was a haunted look to them. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Carol," she whispered.

"Carol? That's a very pretty name."

Her little fingers absently tugged at a strand of her dark brown hair. "It's cause I was born on Christmas day."

"You were? That's very nice."

She smiled up at him, and he felt his heart melt. But he had a sense that there was more to this little visit. "What would you like Santa to bring you for Christmas, sweetheart?"

"A family."

_I could tell she had a Christmas wish_

_Behind those eyes of blue_

_So I asked her, "What's your name_

_And what can Santa get for you?"_

Lassiter hesitated. "A family?"

"Yeah! I dunno who my daddy is, and my mommy went away somewhere."

The knot in Lassiter's gut tightened. No wonder she was here alone. How had she even gotten here by herself?

"I just want a family for Christmas," she continued. "Maybe somebody wants a Christmas Carol!"

Lassiter swallowed a lump in his throat at the sweet little girl's unbridled enthusiasm. She was an orphan, and all she wanted for Christmas was for a family to adopt her.

_She said, "My name is Christmas Carol_

_I was born on Christmas day_

_I don't know who my daddy is_

_And Mommy's gone away_

_All I want for Christmas_

_Is someone to take me home_

_Does anybody want_

_A Christmas Carol of their own?"_

Finally he patted Carol's back. "Santa will do the best he can, sweetheart."

"Really?"

"Yes." He picked her up and gently set her down on the ground. Then he stood up. "Now remember, be on your best behavior." Though he couldn't see how a sweet little girl like that could ever cause trouble.

After a brief hesitation, Carol stepped forward and wrapped her tiny arms around his legs, hugging him tightly.

Lassiter closed his eyes and gently patted the top of Carol's dark head.

_Well, all that I could say was_

_Santa would do the best he could_

_Then I set her down and told her_

"_Now, remember to be good."_

Slowly Carol pulled away, and the smile she gave him melted his heart all over again.

"Thank you, Santa! I'll be good."

"I know you will, sweetheart. Merry Christmas, Carol."

"Merry Christmas, Santa!"

She turned and started to walk away, and when she was close to the mall's exit, she looked over her shoulder.

Lassiter smiled softly at her.

Returning his smile, Carol waved at him before she disappeared through the mall doors.

Letting out a deep sigh, Lassiter sat back down in his chair, his mind reeling.

He was just glad she wasn't close enough to see Santa crying.

_She said, "I will," then walked away_

_Turned and waved goodbye_

_And I'm glad she wasn't close enough_

_To see old Santa cry_

After a few minutes, Lassiter came to a decision.

Getting to his feet, he gathered his things. Then he walked away from the Santa chair.

He had a lot of shopping to do.

_She said, "My name is Christmas Carol_

_I was born on Christmas day_

_I don't know who my daddy is_

_And Mommy's gone away_

_All I want for Christmas_

_Is someone to take me home_

_Does anybody want_

_A Christmas Carol of their own?"_

Christmas morning, Lassiter got up even earlier than he normally did, and after a quick shower, he grabbed his phone and sat down on his couch. Then he started making phone calls.

Thanks to his position at the Santa Barbra PD (and a few friends in some high places) he was able to talk to the director of the Santa Barbra Children's Home. And within just a few minutes, he had heard all that he needed to.

He said goodbye, wished a Merry Christmas, and hung up the phone. Then he called his partner before he finished getting ready. Then he left his house with a smile and a bounce in his step.

_Early Christmas morning_

_I got up and dialed the phone_

_And made a few arrangements_

_With the County Children's Home_

The home was a fifteen minute drive from his house, and when he arrived, he quickly got out of the car and headed inside. There were dozens of children playing, and the woman in charge quickly spotted him.

"Mr. Lassiter?"

He stuck his hand out. "That's me. Where is she?"

The woman gave him a kind smile and shook his hand. "Right this way." He followed her, and as they walked, he started to speak.

"What happened to her parents?"

"It's a sad story, really. Her mother died of cancer last year, and there was no father listed on her birth certificate. We couldn't locate any relatives, and Carol told us that all she had was her mother. So she wound up here. She's a very sweet little girl."

"Yes, she is," he agreed.

Finally they came to a stop, and she opened a door for him. "She's right in there."

"Thank you." He gave her a small smile, then headed inside.

There were several young boys and girls in the room, all playing quietly. His sharp eyes scanned the room, until he finally spotted Carol sitting on a bed and clutching a teddy bear. He approached her slowly. "Carol?"

Carol looked up, her blue eyes just as big as he remembered. "Who are you?"

Lassiter knelt down in front of her. "My name's Carlton, and I talked to Santa yesterday."

"You did?" Her little voice was full of wonder.

"Yes, I did. And he told me what you wanted for Christmas."

"Really?"

"He said that you wanted a family of your own."

Her tiny arms tightened around her bear, and she nodded.

Lassiter smiled kindly. "Well, I told Santa that for Christmas, I wanted my very own Christmas Carol."

Carol's eyes grew as wide as saucers. "You did?"

"I did. And Santa told me that you were here." He leaned in closer to her, watching her little face. "Would you like to be my Christmas Carol?"

For a moment, she didn't speak, and Lassiter was afraid he had said the wrong thing. Then she flung her little body into his arms and hugged him as tightly as she could.

Without hesitating, Lassiter returned the hug and stood up.

"Let's go home, Carol."

_And they told me it would be alright_

_To pick her up today_

_Now my little Christmas Carol_

_Won't ever have to say_

That evening, Juliet and Shawn Spencer were the first to arrive at Lassiter's home. All he would tell them was that he had a big surprise, and Shawn spent the entire ride there guessing what it could be.

Lassiter was putting on a Spongebob Christmas special when he heard the knock, and he quickly went to the door and opened it.

Juliet leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Merry Christmas, Carlton."

"Now where is this big surprise?" Shawn quickly interrupted, and Lassiter ushered them both into his home. He showed them over to the couch, and both Shawn and Juliet looked stunned when they saw a little girl sitting there with a bowl of popcorn in her lap.

Juliet looked at her partner. "Did you…?"

"I adopted her today," Lassiter confirmed quietly. "Well, technically it won't be official for a couple of months, but I have a friend who can rush the paperwork."

"She's adorable," Juliet gushed. "What's her name?"

"Carol." She was his little Christmas Carol.

Juliet hugged him, then hurried over to the couch while Shawn stood beside Lassiter.

"Don't even say it, Spencer," Lassiter growled.

"Say what?"

"Whatever it is you're thinking."

Shawn was quiet for a few moments. "All I was thinking was that Carol is a lucky little girl." He patted Lassiter's back, then joined Juliet on the couch with Carol.

Lassiter was shocked for a moment. But it slowly faded, leaving him with a heart warming smile.

He was pretty sure that he was the lucky one.

_She said, "My name is Christmas Carol_

_I was born on Christmas day_

_I don't know who my daddy is_

_And Mommy's gone away_

_All I want for Christmas_

_Is someone to take me home_

_Does anybody want_

_A Christmas Carol of their own?"_

Later that night, after she opened all of her presents, Lassiter tucked Carol into her bed. It was actually the guest bed, but it would have to do until the malls opened again and he could buy her a proper toddler bed.

Carol snuggled under the covers, her arms tucked around her beloved stuffed bear. "Night…Daddy."

That simple word caught him off guard, and a shocking warmth spread through him. He was somebody's father. Leaning down, he kissed her dark head.

"Good night, Carol. I love you." He brushed her hair back, then headed to the bedroom door.

"I love you, too, Daddy."

He just smiled and turned off the light, then headed into the hall, pulling the door to just enough so that some of the light from the hall went into his daughter's bedroom.

He was a very lucky man.

_Well, Merry Christmas, Carol_

_I love you, welcome home_

The End!

A/N: Aww, Lassifrass! Hehehe. Thanks for reading, and please review! Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everybody!


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